JAIMIE FRANKLIN
Assistant News Editor
Generation Y and the art they make is radically different from their predecessors’ creators.
Unlike previous generations that may be characterized by one particular artistic movement, Generation Y seems to be the opposite. This artistic generation is characterized by diversity, individualism and experimentation with mixed media.
“Today there is no real ‘ism’ in the art world as in the past,” said art professor Dr. Avery Falkner. “Our students have different ideas in all directions.”
Although the influences of postmodernism are far-reaching, many believe that its defining concept of rejecting the mainstream values of modernism is outdated.
Rejection has been replaced with acceptance and diversity, expressed through innovative styles and the utilization of unique and groundbreaking materials and mediums.
“I take an approach to my painting classes where I encourage students to experiment with materials that go beyond traditional oil paint,” said fine arts professor Dr. Joseph Piasentin. “They might end up using mixed mediums and not just canvas.”
Piasentin cited the example of a project he assigned earlier this semester in which students were to paint a self-portrait of themselves as a toy. One student disassembled a wooden rocking horse and painted her portrait over it and another used jigsaw puzzle pieces for a symbolic effect.
An exhibit that opened last week at the Gagosian Gallery in Beverly Hills by British artist Damien Hirst demonstrates the same concept of experimenting with new mediums. Hirst used thousands of tropical butterfly wings to create designs that look similar to stained glass windows. Paint is also incorporated in some of the artworks.
“A lot of this comes from I think an understanding of the notion that art can be found almost anywhere as long as a concept or an idea is communicated,” Piasentin said.
As a generation that has not yet reached age 30, however, we are undoubtedly still in the process of defining ourselves.
“I don’t see an out-of-hand rejection of past values,” Falkner said. “Students are fairly open to suggestions. Before they can react they have to go through and understand [past values].”
Artists at Pepperdine are in the midst of discovering their own styles and modes of expression, while building off of previous concepts.
Sophomore and art major Gared Luquet said he is not yet sure what his style is, but is constantly in the process of discovering himself through art. To him, Pepperdine students seem to be growing and learning together throughout their time in college.
“We shouldn’t reject anything,” Luquet said. “We should look to the future to see what can be done.”
Dildine agrees that he is still working to define himself.
“Being a student here I’ve never wanted to be defined,” Dildine said. “My style is very experimental, and I’m just pushing my limits. I don’t really see myself as having a style quite yet— I’m forming it.”
But regardless of how the artists of Generation Y will ultimately define themselves, art plays a major and fundamental role in distinguishing us from previous times.
“What makes humans unique is our ability and even need to create and engage in art,” art history professor Dr. Cynthia Colburn wrote in an e-mail. “Art is a powerful form of expression, so we can gain great insight about a given period through the study of art.”
03-01-2007